So you grew up on Hamburger Helper, but now you’re an adult and have a more ✨refined✨ palate (read: sarcasm). Well, this One Pot Chili Mac recipe is your grown-up “I actually know how to cook now” substitute! And don’t worry, it’s almost just as easy as the boxed mix. Promise. It’s rich, hearty, cheesy, beefy comfort food pasta all cooked in one easy-to-clean pot. WIN!
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What Is Chili Mac?
Chili Mac is simply macaroni noodles drenched in a rich tomato-based meat sauce, seasoned with chili spices, and with plenty of creamy cheddar cheese melted in. Some recipes also include beans, but I’m going for more of a Hamburger Helper dupe with mine, so I went sans beans. And you might be thinking, “I call that Goulash in my house.” While Chili Mac is similar to American Goulash in that they both contain macaroni noodles and a tomato-based meat sauce, they differ in their seasonings and flavor profiles.
Ingredients for Chili Mac
Here’s what you’ll need to make your own homemade chili mac:
- Onion and Garlic: The delicious meat sauce starts with onions and garlic sautéed in olive oil to give the beef plenty of flavor.
- Ground Beef: Ground beef makes this dish super hearty and delicious, while still being quick and easy to make. Opt for 85 or 90% lean ground beef to avoid having to drain the fat from the pan.
- Flour: A little flour cooked into the sauce helps thicken it up into a delicious gravy-like consistency.
- Spices: A mix of spices are added to the sauce for maximum flavor, including chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and oregano.
- Tomato Sauce: Tomato sauce gives the sauce a tangy tomato flavor and adds to the chili flavor profile.
- Beef Broth: Beef broth adds tons of flavor to this dish and enough salt to keep everything properly seasoned. If using a low-sodium broth, you may need to add a little salt at the end to taste to really help the flavors pop. We used Better Than Bouillon to make our beef broth for maximum flavor.
- Macaroni: Macaroni noodles are an inexpensive and filling ingredient that helps stretch the cost of the beef and keep the entire recipe budget-friendly.
- Cheddar Cheese: Cheddar cheese is stirred into the sauce and added on top of the noodles for extra cheesy flavor!
What Else Can I Add?
If you want to take your chili mac to the next level, try adding one or more of these ingredients:
- Drained kidney or black beans
- Frozen corn kernels
- Sliced green onions
- Pickled jalapeños
- Diced tomatoes (or tomatoes with green chiles)
- Chipotle chile powder
What to Serve with Chili Mac
Chili mac is a true meal in a bowl, but if you want to serve something on the side I’d go for something fresh and light like Cowboy Caviar, Sweet Corn Salsa, or even Cumin Lime Coleslaw.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
As with any pasta dish, the macaroni will continue to get softer as it absorbs moisture from the sauce, so if softer pasta is not tolerable to you, you may not enjoy the leftovers. That being said, I will gobble up these leftovers without a second thought and love making this Chili Mac for meal prep and even to stock my freezer. I simply refrigerate single-serving portions for up to five days or freeze for up to three months. Let frozen portions thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat using the microwave.
One Pot Chili Mac
Servings 6 (1 cup each)Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 1 lb. ground beef ($5.99)
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.03)
- 1 Tbsp chili powder ($0.30)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 8 oz. tomato sauce ($0.69)
- 3 cups beef broth ($0.32)
- 1/2 lb. uncooked macaroni (about 2 cups) ($0.50)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar ($1.17)
Instructions
- Dice the yellow onion and mince the garlic. Add the onion and garlic to a large deep skillet or Dutch oven with the olive oil and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent (about 5 minutes).
- Add the ground beef to the skillet and continue to stir and cook until the beef is cooked through. If using a higher fat content ground beef, you may want to drain off the excess fat at this point.
- Add the flour, chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and oregano to the skillet with the beef and onions. Continue to cook and stir for about two minutes, allowing the flour and spices to coat the bottom of the skillet, but not burn.
- Add the tomato sauce and beef broth to the skillet and stir well to combine, making sure to scrape and dissolve any browned bits off the bottom of the skillet.
- Add the uncooked macaroni and stir to combine. Place a lid on the skillet and turn the heat up to medium-high. Allow the broth to come up to a full boil. Once boiling, give the pasta a quick stir to loosen any that is stuck to the bottom, turn the heat down to medium-low, and place the lid back on top.
- Allow the macaroni to simmer, stirring every few minutes and always replacing the lid, until the macaroni is tender and the broth has reduced to a rich red gravy (about 10 minutes).
- Stir half of the shredded cheese into the sauce until melted, and sprinkle the remainder on top. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat off, and allow the residual heat to melt the cheese on top. Serve hot and enjoy!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Deep Stainless Steel Skillet
Nutrition
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How to Make Chili Mac – Step by Step Photos
Dice one yellow onion and mince two cloves of garlic. Add the onion and garlic to a large deep skillet or Dutch oven with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent (about 5 minutes).
Add one pound of ground beef to the skillet and continue to stir and cook until the beef is fully browned. If you’re using a higher fat content beef, drain the excess fat out of the pan. Next, add 2 tablespoons of flour, 1 tablespoon of chili powder, ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon of garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon of dried oregano.
Continue to stir and cook the flour and spices into the beef for about two minutes, allowing it to coat the bottom of the skillet, but not burn.
Add one 8oz. can of tomato sauce and three cups of beef broth to the skillet. Stir well until everything is evenly combined, making sure to scrape and dissolve all of the browned bits off the bottom of the skillet.
Add ½ pound (about 2 cups) of uncooked macaroni to the skillet and stir to combine. Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow the broth to come up to a boil. Once boiling, give everything a quick stir to loosen any macaroni from the bottom of the skillet, turn the heat down to medium-low, and place the lid back on top.
Let the macaroni simmer in the broth, stirring every few minutes or so and always placing the lid back on top, until the macaroni is tender and the broth has reduced to a saucy red gravy (about 10 minutes).
Add ½ cup of shredded cheddar cheese to the chili mac and stir it into the sauce until melted.
Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of shredded cheese on top. Place a lid on the skillet and turn the heat off. Let the residual heat melt the cheese, then serve. You can garnish with chopped cilantro or sliced green onions, if desired.
So cheesy, beefy, and delicious!!
Hi
I’m looking forward to try this dish…looks so yummy. But, like Riley, can I get a copy of your original version. Thanks.
This recipe was okay, but it was just missing something. I tried doctoring it with various spices, and it helped, but the recipe “as-is” is very bland.
The new, updated version tastes so good, like Amy’s chili Mac, which is my absolute favorite. Next time I’ll add more broth/water because I wish it was just a bit more saucy. But I’m definitely making again! My boyfriend doesn’t like pasta but really liked this! Winner!
I was excited about this based off reviews but it turned out to be just ‘meh’ to me. I didn’t think there was much flavor. We ended up doctoring it up after the fact and it made a HUGE difference. Adding salt for one, as well as a small dollop of sour cream, some cholula for heat, and some green onions on top.
is there a link or way to access the old version (pre- Jan 17th 2024) of this recipe? I never saved it because I assumed it would remain available here. That version was a huge hit in my household and this “updated” version is essentially an entirely new and different dish. We are super bummed to have lost the original…
Just emailed you a PDF of the original recipe! :)
Might I be able to get the old recipe as well? I’m going to try the new recipe this weekend, but same as above – the old recipe was a hit.
Just sent!
Can I also get the old recipe? :)
Just sent it! :)
I’m sorry but could I also have the original recipe? Thank you so much!
Just emailed it! :)
Hi Paige, can you email me the old recipe too?
Just emailed it! :)
I would love a copy of the previous recipe as well!
Just emailed it! :)
Could you send me a copy of the old recipe also? Thank you so much!
Just sent it!
Can I get the old version also
Just emailed it! :)
May I please have a copy of the PDF for the OG recipe too? Thank you for all the hard work you guys do, I appreciate this site!
Just emailed it! :)
Could I get the original recipe emailed as well? Thanks!
Just emailed it! :)
May I get in on this super secret amazing recipe everyone is raving about?? Thank you!
I can promise you it’s not super secret, it’s pretty much identical to his one. 😂 Sometimes we just like to update photos and the body of older posts, and maybe a tiny tweak to the recipe. I just emailed it along to you though!
When you say that Chili Mac is different from American Goulash, you might be describing differences that don’t exist everywhere. When I was in elementary school, the cafeteria Chili Mac was pretty much identical to my mom’s Slumgullion and my aunt’s Goulash. None of them contained chili powder–or the other common and ubiquitous spices included here–which might be the difference between chili mac and American goulash you perceive (Goulash in Vienna was a huge and delicious surprise to me when I visited in the 1980s). Recipes change over time, and names of things do too. The actual proportions of ingredients when I was growing up often varied due to availability, so this was a recipe born to be flexible. It’s a delicious quick, filling, and economical dish and the proportion of meat can change to meet budget demands. It’s always been a kid pleaser.
Having picked up a couple of pounds of ground chuck yesterday I did make this recipe for lunch, but slightly reduced the liquid and skipped the flour. It was definitely tasty, and a bit of a blast from the past for both DH and me.
This is fantastic! I don’t even like Hamburger Helper. But this is truly a great chili mac. So easy to make, and I honestly wasn’t sure it would be good. Well… it’s worth all the 5 star ratings! My family and I loved it! My husband even had two bowls in a row. Superb flavor. Creamy texture from cooking the pasta in the chili. I skipped the flour and made it with Tinkyada brown rice pasta (1:1 sub) and it still turned out terrific. I could see making this ultra luxe for a potluck by adding some Velveeta to it once pasta has cooked. But you certainly don’t need to. Next time I might add grated zucchini and extra ground beef to boost fiber and protein. But otherwise, you cannot go wrong with this!!
Just did this with Great Value Gluten-Free Flour/pasta along with an extra 1T of cornstarch in slurry, mixed into my beef broth, (LOTS of) mustard, etc. A touch of tomato paste is nice too, along with extra salt/pepper. Will definitely be keeping this in my back pocket, I happily doubled this for easy leftovers and froze a few servings since the noodles were nicely al dente. What a delicious meal!
Much better than hamburger helper! I chopped up a head of cauliflower and tossed that in with the pasta to make this a bigger recipe since I wasn’t planning on any sides for dinner.
Made this tonight and it was delicious!! Everyone loved it … my 16 year old son and my husband thought it was great! I added extra minced garlic and 2 TBLS of chili powder/extra smoked paprika.
Another stellar recipe from Budget Bytes! We’re vegetarian so I used meatless crumbles instead of beef. If you do this, just a heads up: “meatless” meat absorbs a lot of liquid, so you’ll need to use about an extra cup of water to ensure your noodles soften up.
This has been a family staple for years. When I’m feeling fancy I’ll add a can or two of beans and even some diced frozen veggies. Perfect comfort food!
Delicious and easy! Childhood comfort food raised up a level. I used 3 tablespoons chili powder and doubled the cheese. This will be going in my rotation. Thank you.
Yummy, satisfying, and dead easy. We loved it!
Simple and delicious. For sure reminds me of eating Hamburger Helper as a kid but way more tasty.